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Albuquerque is a great city for physicians to live - for the most part. The biggest sticking point is that administrative/hospital system issues are AWFUL, and I do mean, AWFUL. The 3 main systems, UNM, Presbyterian, and Lovelace are so caught up in trying to outdo each other, pouring money into facilities/services that don't make sense for the city/demographics, and as a result, the BASIC, primary care services are suffering big time. There is a LOT of turnover for a reason. It does not have to do as much with the city of Albuquerque as it does the actual workplace. Some physicians are LUCKY to hit upon the right environment and be very happy with their jobs, but many just "tolerate" it or are actively/quietly looking for jobs elsewhere. If you dig a little deeper, you will uncover that many physicians are unhappy with how they are treated (e.g., constantly having their jobs/roles/expectations shifted to meet the demands of some higher-up who is planning something that is just ridiculous and short-sighted). MOST doctors, seriously, are not looking to be greedy or selfish, but they do expect a certain quality of life just the same as any other professional as well as satisfaction in the workplace, and if this is not present, they will bail.
UNM seems to be the most steady of the 3, but I know LOTS of unhappy people there as well. Presbyterian seems to be mostly interested in keeping up with UNM and spreading their seed, and Lovelace is probably the weakest but is trying to really build its reputation as a solid community hospital - the women's/birthing center is gaining ground, I know people have been happy there in the past.
It is true that the climate of medicine around the country, across the board, does influence a place like Albuquerque too - so many of these issues are widespread and not unique to Albuquerque. I think that you do FEEL them a little more here, though, because it is a smaller city, fewer physicians, fewer systems, and fewer other options. It is surprising that for a city that is so in need of good BASIC care even, there seems to be little motivation to try and keep doctors here.
Aside from that, yes, you can have a decent life in Albuquerque if your husband is a physician. My understanding is that the hospitalist crew is MOSTLY employed by the hospitals' groups - I don't know any personally, though. I don't know how pay would compare to a place like Denver, but I imagine it would be similar, depending on what your husband does. I imagine you could continue a similar standard of living if that is important to you.
Schools are always a sticking point when anyone (physician or not) is deciding to move to Albuquerque - you will kind of have to decide what your specific needs are. We have always been public-school all the way, but you will repeatedly hear over and over again how "bad" the public school system here is (mostly high school/junior high) and you can feel a lot of pressure to live in "certain areas" and send your kids to "certain schools". Private school here is very expensive, but "good". This is a very personal decision, and it is made harder by hearing repeatedly about all the problems in the schools here (bad test scores, overcrowding, drugs, gangs, etc.) We are also nearing this type of decision-making ourselves.
All in all, the climate is generally good but there are problems which are made worse by having very little "pop-off valve" in terms of other options. The need is immense, and you'd be recruited heavily, but like with any other job, the rough edges show themselves after a while and it depends on your husband's tolerance and job specifics. The hospital systems aren't very "smart" in my opinion, but some doctors feel that everything is always over their heads anyway, and that they just come in and try to do their job and help others and let the crap play out how it will. If your husband can tolerate that kind of thinking, then I think Albuquerque would be great. Issues with raising kids are always personal and will take a different kind of probing separate from the physician thing.
Crackiswhack you really hit the nail on the head. One thing we've noticed is that certain hospitals here will invest a lot into recruiting doctors, and then don't bother with retention. One of the hospitals set unreachable productivity and customer satisfaction standards for their doctors, and there was a mass exodus in one department. Something like 10 doctors out of about 15 left within a span of three months. Even this did not get their attention. Shortsighted to say the least.
Albuquerque has a shortage of doctors. We have lived in this area 11 years and my wife has gone through four doctors (hospitalist?) due to their moving on.
I went through six military doctors at Kirtland Air Force Base due to their getting out of the Air Force, (One went to the Mayo Clinic).
I have gone through four "Eye doctors" in 11 years here...
There appears to be a shortage of doctors in the area. I have found 5+ dentists who are not taking new patients.
Being a senior citizen, I hear a lot of ails from others and the lack of doctors....
But to be honest I have seen almost similar situations in other well populated areas, to a degree (Miami, Atlanta, Baltimore...).
Rich
Hi Rich, care to tell me where exactly (if not who) these dentists aren't accepting new patients? Thanks!
Hi Rich, care to tell me where exactly (if not who) these dentists aren't accepting new patients? Thanks!
Sorry, I can't really say, I had two seperate dental emergencies (Broken tooth and a bad cavity). My existing dentists could not help... My wife started calling dentists until she found one who was taking patients and could squeeze me in, that's been my dentist since then, Comfort Dental...
There are plenty of good dentists, till you have an emergency...
interesting. You have insurance and couldn't find anyone to take you? Sounds like you're right; they really didn't care to take you on. Moderator cut: Please, no advertising.
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 01-29-2011 at 03:50 PM..
This thread is frustrating to me and yet gives me hope at the same time. My husband and I moved from ABQ to KC almost two years ago so that he could attend medical school. He applied to UNM three times and was rejected. Finally, nearly a decade after graduating from undergrad at UNM he decided to apply out of state and was accepted to three osteopathic schools. It was really hard for us to leave NM, but that's what we had to do so that he could practice medicine. We still have a house in Albuquerque and a lot of family and friends. We hope one day to return, but that's a long ways off--he still has two more years of med school and 3-5 years of residency, but eventually we hope to make it back. It helps me to know that there will be good job prospects for him back home.
This thread is frustrating to me and yet gives me hope at the same time. My husband and I moved from ABQ to KC almost two years ago so that he could attend medical school. He applied to UNM three times and was rejected. Finally, nearly a decade after graduating from undergrad at UNM he decided to apply out of state and was accepted to three osteopathic schools. It was really hard for us to leave NM, but that's what we had to do so that he could practice medicine. We still have a house in Albuquerque and a lot of family and friends. We hope one day to return, but that's a long ways off--he still has two more years of med school and 3-5 years of residency, but eventually we hope to make it back. It helps me to know that there will be good job prospects for him back home.
Good luck to you guys . Your husband could apply for residency at UNM, unless he plans on focusing on the osteopathic aspect and wants to do residency with an osteopathic program. I think residency is an easier match than med school admission at UNM, depending on the program. Then you could be here in two years instead of 5-6.
I am a physician myself and have worked in different states over time but working here in Albuquerque for over 10 years.
At first I did think about moving somewhere else for different reasons but came to find out Albuquerque has the best set up for physicans when it comes down to salaries and patients populations.
people here down to earth and very appreciative for what we do.
presbyterian health care seems to have better benifit package but your husband can also check other places.
if he is interested in out patient practice, he would love it here.
work 4 days a week and enjoy family life as well.
good luck
We need general practitioners. It's really hard to find a primary family care physician here. If you try to see someone at one of the hospitals you typically get the "not taking new patients until..." thing, which sucks.
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. Your husband could apply for residency at UNM, unless he plans on focusing on the osteopathic aspect and wants to do residency with an osteopathic program. I think residency is an easier match than med school admission at UNM, depending on the program. Then you could be here in two years instead of 5-6.
